by Julie Backous, Messiah North Campus Site Coordinator  |  

The Ridgefield Family Resource Center has been one of the local public assistance agencies Messiah focuses on all year long. They have been the recipient of many of our food drives and donations. Chris Poppert of Ridgefield School District manages this very active family resource center. The center is located on the site of Union Ridge Elementary School, 330 N. 5th Avenue in downtown Ridgefield in a portable building between the elementary school and the district office at the RACC (Ridgefield Administrative & Civic Center). The family resource center has a stocked food pantry, clothing for families, and personal care items, in particular.

The RFRC has been open during the pandemic for distribution to needy families. Currently Messiah's volunteers are unable to help during COVID-19, but the church continues to send monetary donations and the donations from the Ridgefield Rosauers grocery store continue to be picked up by members of Chris' own family.

When I talked to Chris on Thursday about the snack packs they are distributing, she said that she prepares about 60 packs per week. She's been including a small card of encouragement and hope with each snack pack and had reached out to Messiah for assistance with this. This is something we can help with at Messiah!

Perhaps you or someone you know who live in the Ridgefield area or attend Ridgefield Schools is in need of assistance. Reach out and share the information about the RFRC with others! Please keep the families and center in your prayers.

The cards should be 3 x 5 cards with handwritten messages of hope, encouragement, and love. Since this is coming from the school district, we should keep our messages pretty generic, i.e. "You are important to us", or "You matter", or "Thinking of You", "We love you", or something similar. You can decorate the cards any way you like!

Chris told me that she thinks these cards are the most important part of the packet given out. She's had people tell her that they've taped cards to their steering wheel, or placed it before them to think about several times a day. A few words of encouragement go a very long way, sometimes!

You can make as many cards as you'd like and place them in a plastic Ziploc bag and mail them to the office. Additionally, once we are having services again, we will have collection baskets available in which you can place them at all of our campuses.

Mail to:
Messiah Lutheran Church 905 NW 94th Street Vancouver, WA 98665

If you live in the Ridgefield area, you can also drop them off at the resource center:
330 N. 5th Avenue Ridgefield, WA

Their hours are:
Monday: 1:00 -5:00 p.m. Wednesday: 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Thursday: 1:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Phone: 360-619-1412

Julie Backous, Messiah North Site Coordinator